Because the attrition rate for new teachers in high-poverty schools
averages between 40% and 50% over the first five years of teaching, this
investigation offers practical solutions to more than 100 of the daily
challenges they face. With an emphasis on pragmatic approaches that can
be accomplished in the classroom, the book argues that many of the
skills necessary for teaching in urban schools are not properly taught
in university programs and that most white teachers simply have to learn
by experience. Written from a black perspective and supported by
real-life examples and details rather than theory, this helpful
compendium of advice and expertise tackles issues of race and class
while outlining the many ways in which the American school system is
designed to contribute to a teacher's struggle.